The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Observer“It's all rather obvious and familiar, but well enough acted....” A rather cluttered rite-of-passage novel set in a well-heeled suburb of Pittsburgh in the 1990s. The central character, part-time narrator and eponymous shrinking violet is Charlie a shy, intelligent 16-year-old...

Evening Standard“A great film for, say, 13- to 16-year-olds to see...” The central trio work very convincingly together, whipped along by Miller unleashing his inner queen and stealing the show. They are all, of course, strictly too old for the roles (Miller is 20, Watson 22) but somehow it doesn’t matter...

The Independent“Hopelessly synthetic and derivative...” All eyes will be on Emma Watson, shrugging off Potter but hardly convincing as the free-spirited kook...

Little White Lies“Cosily generic...” Miller steals the film whenever he’s on camera, his natural energy and lack of self-consciousness lifting the thin material. But it’s not enough...

The Telegraph“A wonderfully observed coming-of-age film...” Teenage wallflowers, past and present alike, will feel tingles of recognition, and pure pleasure...

Empire“An honest, affection-hooking, coming-of-age drama...” It is often clumsy and awkward. Chbosky’s technical direction is scrappy, and every now and then the script drops a clunker (“How long have you been boyfriend and girlfriend?”). Yet there is something about it that just chimes...

Total Film “Logan Lerman delivers a career-making turn...” These teens don’t crack wise - they’re too busy making affected pronouncements like “I feel infinite” but their emotional rawness will strike a chord with the intended audience...

Time Out“A plainly personal debut from Stephen Chbosky...” Setting proceedings in 1991 keeps things appealingly analogue, even if its period details are curiously inconsistent... But... there's an irresistible guilelessness to this adolescent love letter...

Guardian“It's easy to be snippy about this sort of wholesome drama” It's for early teens, out from under Harry's shadow and looking for something with less magic, and a tiny bit more bite. They could do worse than to give this a spin...